Nakshatras and Navamsa

By yenbeeyes
Date: 06.10.2007
In this article I am trying to relate the Nakshatras to the Navamsa.
Nakshatras:
According to mythology Nakshatras are the daughters of Daksha Prajapati. They were 27 in number and
were married to Moon. The list of Nakshatras is available in Taittiriya Samhita (A.V 19.7) and also in the
Shatapatha Brahmana. Each Nakshatra has one of the navagrahas as Lord and is totally governed by
them. The order for the first 9 nakshatras are Ketu, Shukra(Venus), Surya(Sun), Chandra(Moon),
Mangala(Mars), Rahu, Guru(Jupiter), Shani(Saturn) and Budha(Mercury). This cycle gets repeated two
more times to cover all the 27 nakshatras. Based on this the Vimsottari Dasa System has been built.
In Vedic Astrology the Zodiac comprises 360 degrees. By making a 30 degree division we get the 12
Rasis. By making a 13 degree 20 minutes division we get the 27 Nakshatras. In fact the first division was
by means of Nakshatras only for which we find references in Rig-Veda also. Moon takes 27 days and 7
hours to make one round of the fixed Zodiac. Based on this the division of 130 20 was made. Now we get
a shortfall of 7 hour in the lunar transit which was made up of an extra Nakshatra called Abhijit. For the
purpose of some special charts like Sarvobhadra Chakra etc we consider 28 Nakshatras and for all other
purposes we take only 27 Nakshatras. The span from 2760 40 to 2800 54 13 that is to say the last pada
of Uttarashada is known as Abhijit.
Details about each Nakshatra like, Symbol, Gotra, Gana, Lord, Deity, Type, Yoni, Guna, Goal, Sex, Body
Part, Caste etc. etc. can be seen in any Standard beginners book. In most of the Panchangas also these
details are given. I am not going into the details of these in this article.
In the Gola Shastra we find a further sub-division of this arc of 13 degrees 20 minutes into 4 parts of 3
degrees 20 minutes each. These are called padas that is legs or feet. Why this was done? The arc of 13
degrees 20 minutes were found to be insufficient for the ancient astrologers and get a better and specific
characteristic features of ruler-ship of the stars the further sub-division was made. Thus each Rasi was
allotted 9 padas each in the running order of the Nakshatra.
Nakshatras and their nature have volumes and volumes of information and it is not possible to present
here all of them. Like-wise Nakshatras have deep relationships with various divisional charts, especially
the Navamsa called as D-9 chart and Nakshatramsa Chart called as D-27 chart.
Navamsa:
Bhagavat Gita says that the first symptom of fall in Dharma is when the women of the family become
corrupt and thus get polluted. Dharma is denoted by the 9th house. Hence one ninth division is called
Navamsa to stress the point that it is a Dharmamsa. That is why Navamsa gains importance while
matching charts for marriage. This is the chart which gives out the inherent abilities of the native though
in a hidden form. Rasi chart is existence at the physical level. Moon chart shows your mental abilities.
Navamsa chart shows the souls development through previous lives which are going to bear fruit in the
current life. The importance given to this chart by Parasara, Jaimini, Varahamihira, Kalyana Varma and
many more astrologers including respected B.V.Raman point out that the strength of the planets are to be
judged taking into account both Rasi and Navamsa chart together.
How Navamsa chart is constructed?
Each Rasi of 300 is divided into 9 equal parts. So each part will be 30 20. For Fiery Rasis (Mesha, Simha,
Dhanus) Navamsa starts from Mesha. For earthy signs (Vrishabha, Kanya, Makara) Navamsa starts from
Makara. For Airy signs (Mithuna, Thula, Kumbha) the beginning is from Thula and for the watery signs
(Karka, Vrischika and Meena) the order starts from Karka. An Example will clarify this point:

Suppose a planet say Mercury is in 150 25 at Kanya. Kanya is earthy sign. Hence starting point for
Navamsa will be Makara. 150 25 is in the 5th part of the rasi by dividing it with 9. Hence counting 5 from
Makara we come to Vrishabha. In the Navamsa chart Mercury will be placed in Vrishabha.
Suppose Mars is in Karka 240 10 then it falls in the 8th part of the rasi. Karka being a watery sign counting
is to begin from Karka itself. 8th from Karka is Kumbha where Mars will be placed in Navamsa chart.
This is the way Navamsa chart is to be constructed.
Relationship of Nakshatra padas and Navamsa
I have already mentioned that each Nakshatra is divided into 4 padas and the pada has a characteristic of
the sign of the zodiac which starts from Mesha. If you take 3 nakshatras you get 12 padas (3 x 4) which
can be equated to the 12 rasis.
However each rasi has been assigned only 2 Nakshatras or 9 padas only. So counting from Mesha the
9th sign falls in Dhanus. So the next Nakshatra pada should automatically start from Makara. Count 9
signs from Makara to end up in Kanya. The next Nakshatra pada should start from Thula. Similarly
counting from Thula the 9th sign falls in Mithuna and naturally the next Nakshatra pada will begin from
Karka. So the order of beginning is Mesha, Makara, Thula and Karka which tallies with the basic principle
laid down in scriptures and as explained above.
To make matters simple I will conclude that the signs of padas and the Navamsa signs are the same.
Now let us examine the sample calculation made above according to this new rule:
Mercury is in 150 25 in Kanya. The Nakshatra is Hasta-2nd pada. Count the padas from Ashwini to Hasta
2nd. Ashiwini to Uttaraphalguni it is 12 Nakshatras or 12 x 4 = 48 pada. Add 2 padas of hasta and the total
pada is 50. For the 12 rasis we are allotting 12 padas. Hence 4 x 12 = 48 padas gets allotted to all the 12
rasis. 2 padas remain starting from Mesha the 2nd rasi will be Vrishabha which gets the 50th pada. So
Mercury will be in Vrishabha in the Navamsa Chart which tallies with our principle stated earlier.
Let us take the 2nd example also. Mars is in Karka 240 10. The Nakshatra is Aslesha 3rd pada. From
Ashwini till pushyam 8 Nakshatras or 32 padas are there. Adding the 3 padas of Aslesha we get 35 padas.
Staring from Mesha allot each pada and you will end up in Kumbha as the 35th pada. This is what we have
arrived at earlier.
To complete this calculation you must definitely require the Nakshatra and the pada in which the planet is
placed or the longitude of the planet.
I give below a table containing all the 108 Navamsas for all Nakshatra Padas:
The purpose of this table is if you know the longitude of a planet without the sign name and nakashatra
pada you can find the Rasi, Nakshatra, Pada and navamsa of the planet by looking at the cumulative
longitude column. If you know the Rasi and the Longitude then select Rasi column and Longitude column
and note the Nakshatra, Pada and navamsa.
Nakshatra

Rasi

Ashwini

Mesha

Bharani

Mesha

Krittika

Mesha

Krittika

Vrishabha

Longitude
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40

Pada
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Navamsa/
Pada sign
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha

Cumulative
Longitude
000.00030.20
030.20060.40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
300.00-330.20
330.20-360.40

Rohini

Vrishabha

Mrigasirsha

Vrishabha

Mrigasirsha

Mithuna

Ardra

Mithuna

Punarvasu

Mithuna

Pushya

Karka
Karka

Aslesha

Karka

Magha

Simha

PPhalguni

Simha

UPhalguni

Simha
Kanya

Hasta

Kanya

Chitra

Kanya
Thula

Swati

Thula

Visakha

Thula

Anuradha

Vrischika
Vrischika

Jyeshta

Vrischika

Mula

Dhanus

060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74

Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha

360.40-400.00
400.00-430.20
430.20-460.40
460.40-500.00
500.00-530.20
530.20-560.40
560.40-600.00
600.00-630.20
630.20-660.40
660.40-700.00
700.00-730.20
730.20-760.40
760.40-800.00
800.00-830.20
830.20-860.40
860.40-900.00
900.00-930.20
930.20-960.40
960.40-1000.00
1000.00-1030.20
1030.20-1060.40
1060.40-1100.00
1100.00-1130.20
1130.20-1160.40
1160.40-1200.00
1200.00-1230.20
1230.20-1260.40
1260.40-1300.00
1300.00-1330.20
1330.20-1360.40
1360.40-1400.00
1400.00-1430.20
1430.20-1460.40
1460.40-1500.00
1500.00-1530.20
1530.20-1560.40
1560.40-1600.00
1600.00-1630.20
1630.20-1660.40
1660.40-1700.00
1700.00-1730.20
1730.20-1760.40
1760.40-1800.00
1800.00-1830.20
1830.20-1860.40
1860.40-1900.00
1900.00-1930.20
1930.20-1960.40
1960.40-2000.00
2000.00-2030.20
2030.20-2060.40
2060.40-2100.00
2100.00-2130.20
2130.20-2160.40
2160.40-2200.00
2200.00-2230.20
2230.20-2260.40
2260.40-2300.00
2300.00-2330.20
2330.20-2360.40
2360.40-2400.00
2400.00-2430.20
2430.20-2460.40

PShada

Dhanus

UShada

Dhanus
Makara

Sravana

Makara

Sravana
Dhanishta

Makara
Makara
Kumbha

Satabhishak

Kumbha

PBhadrapada

Kumbha

UBhadrapada

Meena
Meena

Revati

Meena

OM TAT SAT

060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00
000.00030 20
030.20060-40
060.40100.00
100.00130.20
130.20-160.40
160.40-200.00
200.00-230.20
230.20-260.40
260.40-300.00

75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108

Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena
Mesha
Vrishabha
Mithuna
Karka
Simha
Kanya
Thula
Vrsichika
Dhanus
Makara
Kumbha
Meena

2460.40-2500.00
2500.00-2530.20
2530.20-2560.40
2560.40-2600.00
2600.00-2630.20
2630.20-2660.40
2660.40-2700.00
2700.00-2730.20
2730.20-2760.40
2760.40-2800.00
2800.00-2830.20
2830.20-2860.40
2860.40-2900.00
2900.00-2930.20
2930.20-2960.40
2960.40-3000.00
3000.00-3030.20
3030.20-3060.40
3060.40-3100.00
3100.00-3130.20
3130.20-3160.40
3160.40-3200.00
3200.00-3230.20
3230.20-3260.40
3260.40-3300.00
3300.00-3330.20
3330.20-3360.40
3360.40-3400.00
3400.00-3430.20
3430.20-3460.40
3460.40-3500.00
3500.00-3530.20
3530.20-3560.40
3560.40-3600.00